Combined cross-connecting switch and coupler for electrical and auxiliary air lines



Feb. 21, 1928.

I C H. E. VAN DORN COMBINED CROSS CONNECTING SWITCH AND COUPLER FORELECTRICAL AND AUXILIARY AIR LINES 7 Sheets-Sheet l Filed April 19, 1922kin. NW0

fn/vfemtar Feb. 21, 1928.

1,660,180 E. VAN DORN COMBINED CROSS CONNECTING SWITCH AND COUPLER FORELECTRICAL AND AUXILIARY AIR LINES Filed April 19, 1922 '7 Sheets-Sheet3 I II IIIIIIIIIIII/A\ Feb. 21, 1928.

1,660,180 H. E. VAN DORN GQMBINED cnoss CONNECTING SWITCH AND COUPLERFOR ELECTRICAL AND AUXILIARY AIR LINES Filed April 19, 1922 "7Sheets'$heet 4 Feb; 21, 1928. 1,660,180

H. E. VAN DORN COMBINED CROSS CONNECTING SWITCH AND COUPLER FORELECTRICAL AND AUXILIARY AIR LINES Filed April 19, 1922 7 Sheecs$heet 5Feb. 21, 1928. 1,660,180

E. VAN DORN H. CQM BINED CROSS CONNECTING SWITCH AND COUPLER FORELECTRICAL AND AUXILIARY AIR LINES Fi led April 19, 1922 7 Sheets-Shegt6 Feb. 21, 1928. 1,660,180

H. E. VAN DORN COMBINED CRO NNECTING SWITCH AND COUPLER FOR ELECT ANDAUXILIARY AIR LINES 1 ed Qpril 19, 1922 '7 Sheets-Sheet 7 a- T Lllllllllflll l llll &9 7

IN-m.

Patented Feb. 21, 1928.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

HERBERT E. VAN BORN, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

COMBINED CROSS-CONNECTING SWITCH AND COUPLER FOR ELECTRICAL ANDAUXILIARY AIR LINES.

Application filed April 19, 1922. Serial No. 555,644.

My invention has for its object to produce a simple, compact andefficient coupler by means of which electrical connections may bereliably made between two cars, the cir cuits will be cross connectedwhen two similar cars are coupled together, thus permitting the use of aminimum number of contacts, and by means of which the air system forcontrolling the pneumatic actuating devices associated with the couplerand, if desired, the car coupler, will be connected to the correspondingsystem on another car so as to cause the various operations in couplingand uncoupling to takeplace in unison on both cars-when a master valveon either car is operated.

A, further objectof the present invention is to produce a simple andcompact construction and arrangement whereby movable contact carrieradapted to co-operate with a similar carrier on another car willnormally be effectively housed within a suitable easing containing alsoa simple cross connecting switch, the parts being so constructed andarranged that the door in the casing must be opened before the contactcarrier can be moved in a direction tending to project it from thecasing.

Another object of the present invention to produce a simple and novelelectric coupier combining a movable contact carrier and a crossconnecting switch.

A further object of he present invention is to produce a simple andnovel electric coupler having a closure for protecting the parts in theinterior thereof when the coupier not co-operating with another,coupler, and having the actuating controlling means for the movableparts so interlocked that they are compelled to move in the propersequence to a oid interference with each other, although they may becontrolled from a single master controller.

The various features of novelty whereby my invention characterized willhereinafter be pointed out with particularity in the claims; but, for afull understanding of my invention and of its objects and advantages.reference ra be had to the following detailed description taken inconnection with the accom anying drawings, wherein:

Figure l is a top plan view of my improved coupler, including thenecessary pip-- ing and a master valve shown diagrammatically 5 Fig. 2is a section on an enlarged scale taken approximately on line 22 of Fig.1;

Fig. 3 is a section taken approximately on line 3--3 of Fig. 5;

Fig. a is a section taken approximately on line 14[ of Fig. 5;

Fig. 5 is a horizontal section, on a smaller scale, taken approximatelyon line 5-5 of Fig. 4;

Fig. 6 is a section taken approximately on line 66 of Fig. 4, on asomewhat smaller scale than the latter;

Fig. 7 is a section taken approximately on line 7-7 of Fig. 5, but on alarger scale than the latter; and

Fig. 8 is a section through the front end of the contact carrier takenapproximately on line 8-8 of Fig. 7.

efcrring to the drawings, 1 represents a suitable casing or housing openat the front end and provided with a door 2 having rearwardly-projectingflanges or wings 3 and 4 pivotally connected to the side walls of thecasing by suitable bolts 5, so as to permit the door to swing between aposition in which it closes the front of the casing to a position inwhich it lies underneath the front end of the casin As best shown inFig. 3, there is in one side of the casing a longitudinally-slidablespring-pressed plunger 6 lying in rear of and engaging with a nose 7 onone of the wings of the door below the hinge axis. When free to do so,this plunger closes the door, and the door can be opened only bypressing back the plunger. ()nthe same side of the casing as the plunger6, above the same and plarallel therewith, is a piston rod 8 passing trough the rear wall of the casing and fixed to a piston 9 slidable inacylind'er 10. The front end of the piston rod lies behind and engageswith an car 11 located on the wing 4 above the hinge axis. lVhen air isadmitted into the cylin der 10 behind the piston it forces the pis tonand rod forward, swinging the door-open against the resistance of thespring-pressed plunger. In the opposite side of the casing is a gravitydog 12 adapted to drop behind shoulder 13 located on the wing 3 abovethe hinge axis of the door; the parts being so proportioned that whenthe door is ful y open the dog drops in place behind the shoulder andholds the door open until the dog is lifted out of the way.

Within the casing or housing is acontact carrier the principal member ofwhich is. a

fiat box-like member 1 1 somewhat narrower than the casing. The member141s provided with upwardly-projecting v ears through which passstationary'guide rods 16 extending lengthwise ofthe casing from thefront to the rear wallsof the latter. Each of the rods 16 passes througha stationary lug 17 extending downwardly from the top wall of i thecasing. On each of. the guide rods is a spring '18 hearing atone endagainst one ot the lugs 17" and at its rear end against one of the carsor lugs 15 on the contact carrier. The'springs 18 tend to hold thecontact carrier in itsretracted idle position and, after thecontact'carrier has been projected forwardly so as. tojext'end throughthe open doorway, the springs,when'left free to dose, return the carrierto its idle position within the casing. On one side of the member 14 ishung 'a gravity dog'19 havingan up- -wardly-projecting nose 20 which isadapted to strikeiagainst a downwardlyprojecting lug 91 on the dog 12,when the carrier is projected forward and ride underneath this lugwithout tripping the do On the return movement of the contactcarrier,the nose'QO strikes against the front side of the lug'2l but isprevented fronr swinging downwardly past the/lug byrmeans of a pin'orstop 22 flying behindthe same and below the piyotal point. Consequentlyas the contactcarrier 15 retracted the nose 2O acts on the lug 21, en-

' gaging-with the inclined lower face 23 there of, and forcing thelockingdog for the door upwardly so as to release the door and permitthe springpressed' plunger to close the V to engage with an arm 27hinged at its lower end, as'indic'ated at 28, to the contact carrieranduising verticallytherefrom; said arm having a forwardly-pro]ectingpin'29 which passes slidably through a lug 30 pro ject-ing upwardly fromthe top of the memfee her lat. (A strong spring 31 surrounds the member29, hearing at its front end against the lugiit) and at its rear endagainst the upper end of 'thcswinging arm 27L The contact carrier isbrought to rest before the actuating piston 25 has fully completed itsstroke, by bringingfsome portion of the carri er against a stationarystop; so that further compression of the spring31 will occur after thecarrier has been pro ected forward as far 7 as itwill go; andthe carrierwill therefore be yieldingly held in its extreme forward position. Asimpleway to arrest the forward movement of the carrier is to permit theforward lugs or ears 15 to strike'agalnst the front wall of the housingor casing or,

preferably against bosses projecting in- 2" ii iv from said wall and caable ofbein D iihed so as to secure accurate adjustment ot' the carrier.

Abovethe member 27 is hinged a swinging dog 33 inposition to drop downbehind the upper end'ot thearin 27 at the completion of the workingstroke of the actuating piston. In 0rd r to release the contact carrierso as to permitthe springs18 to return it to its retracted positiointhemember 33 must be lifted out of engagement with the arin inthearrangement shown, there 18 formed in the top-of the casinga shallowvertical cylinder 32lcontaining a piston 35 having a rod or stem'36which is loosely conn'ectecl in any suitable way to the free end of themember 3%; Normally the weight of the parts and, if desirei'ha spring 37acting on the niei'nbcr 333, permits the catch device to a ssumo itslocking position upon the projection forward of vthe carrier. V henairun dc "pressure is admitted into the cylinder 34 underneath thepiston, the'piston is forced up and unlocks the carrier Air is suppliedto the unlocking cylinder 34: through a pas-' sage'38 arranged in thetop wall of the cas ing' and extendingto the frontend of the casingwhere it is provided with a suitable terminal 39. adapted to make atight-jointwith a correspondingterminal on, another coupler and thusestablish communication between the passage 38 and the correspondmgpassage in another coupler. V

The front end of'the box-like member 14 of the contact carrier is filledwith a body &0 of insulating material carrying theelectrical contactpieces-or terminals adapted to engagewith similar parts in a coupler onan- M other car. It is highly desirable thatithe contacts in twoco-opcrating couplers slide upon each other when a coupling is effected,in order to keep the working faces of the connection between each pairof coi-operating contacts. Where'the working faces of the contacts areapproximately at right 1 angles to the longitudinal axis of the couplerthe sliding engagement between the contact"; of two couplers can readilybe brought about by means ofa. bodily lateral shifting of the couplersthemselves. Itmay happen or be desirable so to support the electriccouplers that they will be aligned before the contacts have cometogether or so soon thereafter that no substantial sliding of thecontactf faces on each other can take place. Under such conditions, itis highly desirable toprovide means for insuring a sliding ofthecontacts-upon each other. This may CO111811 iently be accomplished bymountingsome or contacts clean and insure a good electrical all of thecontacts so that they are slidable in directions making an acute anglewith the longitudinal axis of the coupler, so that as they slide in andout, their transverse working faces move bodily in the lateraldirection.

In the arrangement shown there are twelve contact pieces arr: nged intwo groups of sir; symmetrically disposed on opposite sides 01 a vertial plane containing the longitudinal axis of the coupler. The contacts11, oi one group, are shown as being stationary and as projecting onlyslightly from the l'ront face of the'body of insulating material Q0. Thecontacts 42 of the other group are slidable in passages d8 parallel witheach other and each making an acute angle witl the longitudinal axis ofthe coupler. A spring 4st arranged within each passage behind thecontact therein, holds the contact thrustt'orward a considerabledistance beyond the front end of the insulating block. The contact faces45 on the outer ends of the pieces a2 are arranged substantially atright angles to the longitudinal axis of the coupler. It will be seenthat when two couplers are brought together, properly aligned, thecontacts ll in one coupler will engage with the contacts &2 of the othercoupler, forcing these contacts backward against the resistance of thesprings 14, and thus producing a bodily lateral shifting of the contact.taces and consequently a sliding engagement between these faces and theworking faces of the contacts ll. It is desirable to reduce the numberof electrical terminals in the coupler to a minimum and therefore, inorder that each of the contact pieces 41 and i2 may at all times be auselul terminal, I have provided the coupler with a simple crossconnecting switch which will. serve properly to cross connect the "sireso't sevoral similar cars each having only as many terminals in thecoupler as there are circuits to be connected. in the bottom of thecoupler casing are two transverse parallel bars 4-6 and -it7 ofinsulating material on each of which are placed as many stationarycontacts as there are terminals in the coupler, in the present instancetwelve. The contacts on the bar to are indicated at 48 and on the bar41:? at 49. The elements l8 lie directly behind the correspondingelements in the row 4.9. At the rear end of the carrier 14- is a blockof insulating material 50 underneath which extends a series of contactstrips 51 equal in number to the contacts in each of the rows 4:8 and1-9 and so disposed that each strip lies in a vertical plane containingone of the contacts in the row 48 and one of the contacts in the row 49.The terminal con tacts 4-1 and 42 are connected to the strips 51 bymeans of suitable wires 52. The contact strips 51 he somewhat above thestationary contacts t8 and t9 so as toleave room be- 'gagemcnt witn thestrips 51, and a set 58 ranged on the unde; and adapted to have slicingcn 'agement with the s u contacts 48 and -'l--. Corresponding contacts5? and 58 are electri :all connected together this being convenientlyaccomplished by making one of lingers W the corresponding finger 58 outof a single piece of resilient metal suitably bent and attached thesupporting bar.

The parts are so pr they are in th i-al e p c in Fig. 2, the iingex; 8lie hehi most row 48 ot the stationary contacts and therefore interruptthe electrical continuity between the terminals 41 and and the wires orlines, (not shown) which extentrom the stationary contacts 4:8 and 4t)in lh form of a cable or otherwise through a suitable outlet .59 at therear end of the casing. When the contact carrier is projected asheretofore Xplained, tire movable member 01 the circuit closer mayeither be placed in a position in which it bridges the gaps bctween thecontact strips 51 on the 01111 and the stationary contacts 1-8 or in ation in which it bridges the gaps between the contact strips 51. and thestationary con tacts 4:9. The same wires are of course coanccted to boththe contacts 48 and the contacts 49, but in a reverse order in the roea'thereby pern'iitting the contacts 1 1 and to be connected in either ottwo ways to wires of which they are to term the l(,i'l nals. The partsare so proportioned t the fingers 58 cannot at the same time we inengagement with both the cont: cts {'19 and 49. but must leave thecontacts of one loiv in; I

iili) iiibeitore they come into engagement with the contacts of theother row.

Two actuating devices are provided for the circuit-closing member of thecross--v connecting switch, one of these actuators b ing intended tomove the member into operative relation to the row o'l contacts 6% andthe other being designed to more the member into operative relation tothe row of contacts eh in the illitlilgennilli' shown. there arearranged in rear of the coupler casing two cylinders 50 and 51, thesecylinders being placed in the vicinity of the longitudinal center of thecoupler and with their in the same horiso id pla: a as the member In thecylinder (30 is a piston 62 having a piston rod 63 which e2;-

piston is effective in both directions.

casing and engages with the rear edge of the member 55 without beingattached to the latter.- The piston 62 has a stroke 'suiiicient to carrythe member 55 from its idle position into a working position inoperative relation to the contacts 48. In the cylinder 61 is a piston 64having arod 65' which extends through the rear wall of the couplercasing and is attached in any suitable manner tothe member 55. Thestroke of the piston 6 1 is sufiicient to permit the piston to move themember 55 between its idle position and a working position in which thecontact fingers 58 thereon engage witlrthe stationary contacts &9.Itwill be seen that the piston 62 can be used only tomove the member 55in one direction while the other It'desired, suitable spring catches 66may be pro vided at the sides of the casing for co-operation with theends of the member 55 when the latter is in its first working "position.that 1s in operative relation toathe contacts 48, so as to. cause themember 55 to be yieldingly' held in' such working position and avoid thedanger of accidental displacement after the operating airrhas beenshutoff. IVhen the member 1s moved into its sec- 0nd working position; thatis in operative relation to the contacts 49,-it is preferably In the her55 into operative relation to the contacts iii.

49. The plunger 68 projects out from a suitable pneumatic cylinder 69into which air may be admitted to retract the plunger and thus releasethe member 55 so that it can be drawn back into its idle position.

In addition to the air terminal 39 to which refcrencehas heretofore beenmade, the coupler is provided with two other air terminals 70 and 71joined together by a suitable passage 72 formed in the top wallof theeasing. A branch passage 7 3 extends from the passage 72 into a valvechamber 7% the top of which may conveniently be formed by a detachablecover 75, as best shown in Figs.

land l. This valve chamber lies at one side of the casing, directlyabove one ofthe wings of the door. In the valve chamber is a valve 76having a stem 77 which projects down through the bottom of the chamberinto-the path ofashoulder 78 on the underlying door wing or flange; theparts being so proportioned that when the door approaches its fully openposition, the shoulder 7 8 engageswith the valve stem and forces thevalve open, thus allowing air to flow from the topor" the chamber 74-past the valveinto the lower portion of the chamber from which it maythen pass through a pipe tact carrier.

79 to the actuating cylinder 26 for the con- In other words, the contactcarrier cannot be projected forwardly until after the door has beenopened.

In the'drawings I have shown a system erpiping for insuring the properoperation of the various mechanisms onboth of two 0011- '81 is adaptedto connect either of two pipes 82 and 83 to the pipe 80 or toatmosphere;

the arrangement being preferably such that when-either of thepipes 82and 83is connected to the pipe 80, the other will be connectedt-oatmosphere. The'pipe 82 leads di f rectly to the rearend of the longcylinder 61. A branch pipe 84 extends from the pipe 1 82 to the passage72 whichconnectstogether the two terminals 70 and 71 at the front of thecoupler. Another branch pipe 85 6X- tends from the pipe 84 into the rearend of I the cylinder'60. The pipe Set is also connected to the rear endof the door-opening cylinder 10, by meansv of a pipe 86, as best shownin Fig. 3, In the pipe 84;, near the point where it is connected to thepipe 82, is

a check valve 87 which prevents air from flowing from'the pipe 84; intothe pipe 82 but permits a flow in the. opposite direction. In the pipe85 is a pressure valve 88 which prevents a flow of air into the,'cylinder 60 until a predetermined pressure has been reached in thepipe'84c. It will be seen that when the master valve is turned to admitair into the pipe 82, (assuming that two couplers have been brought intocoupled relation to each other,)..ai'r will flow into the actuatingcylinder; 61 for the cross connecting switch, causing the member 55 tobe pushed forward in the coupler until it is in operative relation tothe contacts 49. At the same time air will flow into the dooropeningcylinder 10 so that the doorat the front, end ofthe coupler will beopened. Air

,will also flow through the pipe 845 and passage 73 to'the valve chamber74 so that; as soon as the door of the coupler has been swung out of theway, air will be admitted to the actuating cylinder 26 for the contactpassages .72 and 73 and also through the pipe 84; the flow or" airthrough the pipe 84 being inthe opposite direction from that in 'thecoupler first considered,'so that the air will be prevented by the checkvalve 87 vfrom flowing into the cylinder 61 in the second coupler.Consequently while the door in the second coupler will belopened and thecarrier and the contact carrier will be forced contact carrier projectedin precisely the same way as in the first coupler, air can enter onlythe short actuating cylinder for the cross connecting switch in thesecond coupler and not the long cylinder, so that in the second couplerthe member ot the cross connecting switch will be moved only into itsfirst working position in which it lies in operative relation to thecontacts as. Consequently in one coupler the electric terminalsconnected to the circuits through the contacts L9 and in the other theyare connected to the circuits through the contacts 48.

YVhen it is desired to uncouple, thc controlling valve on either car ismoved into the psition in which air is adapted to flow into the pipe 83while the pipe 82 is connected to atmosphere. It will be seen that theair flows directly from the pipe 83 through a. pipe 90 into the frontend of the cylinder (31 and, since the front ends of the cylinders and61 are connected together by a port 91, the air enters both thecylinders 60 and 51 and tends to force the pistons back. In that car inwhich the movable member of the cross connecting switch has been movedonly partially forward, the locking plunger associated vitli the longstroke piston will not have been brought into play and therefore bothot' the pistons in that coupler will be forced back so as to bring themovable member of the cross connecting switch into its idle position. Inthe coupler of the first car, that is the one in which themaster valvewas operated to effect the coupling, the movable member of the crossconnecting switch will be in its extreme forward position and thereforethe piston rod associated with the long stroke piston will be positivelylocked against retraction until the locking plunger is 'it-h'drawn. Thewithdrawal of the locking plunger 68 is effected by air which passesfrom the pipe 83 through a pipe 91 which is connected through a pressurevalve 92 to a pipe 93 leading to the pneumatic device (19 in which thelocking plunger 68 is mounted: It is therefore necessary for pressure tobuild up in the pipes and 91 before the long stroke actuating piston forthe cross connecting switch can be unlocked. The pipe 91 communicateswith the passage 38 in the top wall of the coupler casing so that airflows directly from the pipe 83 through tne pipe 91 .into the releasingcylinder 34- for the catch which locks the carrier in its projectedposit-ion. Air flows from thepassage 38 through the terminal 39 into theco-operating coupler.

It is desirable that the unlocking of the car couplers be delayed untilthe electric couplers have been placed in idle condition. This mayconveniently be accomplished by extending a branch pipe 9% from the pipe93 to an unlocking cylinder 95 for a car coupler. 'Vith thisarrangement, air cannot flow into the unlocking cylinder until a predetermined pressure has been built up behind the pressure valve 9:2,which pressure may be great enough to insure that the catches forlocking the contact carriers in both couplers in their projectedpositions will be released before any air an flow to the unlockingdevices for the air couplers.

In order to insure that the air will properly be exhausted in certain ofthe pipes when air under pressure is admitted to other pipes, regardlessof: the position of the inaster valve, suitable snillle valves or cocks96 and 97 may be placed in the pipes 82 and 83, respectively; wherebythese pipes are open to atmosphere except when the pressure is above apredetermined minimum. Consequently whenever air is pushed back intoeither of these pipes by one of the pistons, it can escape through thesnifile valve.

lVhile I have illustrated and described with particularity only a singlepreferred form of my invention, I do not desire to be limited to theexact structural details thus illustrated and described; but intend tocover all forms and arrangements which come within the terms employed inthe definitions of my invention constituting the appended claims.

I claim 1. In an electric coupler, a casing, a door for said casing, amovable contact carrier in i he casing adapted to be projected when thedoor is open, an actuator for said carrier, a, controller for saidactuator, and apart on the door in position to operate said controlleras the door is opened.

In an electric coupler, a casing, a door for said casing, a movablecontact carrier in the casing adapted to be projected when the door isopen, a pneumatic actuating device for said carrier, a controlling valvefor said actuating device, and a part on said door in position tooperate said valve when the door is opened.

3. In an electric coupler, a casing, a door for-said casing, a movablecontact carrier in the casing adapted to be projected when the door isopen, a pneumatic actuating de vice for said carrier, a normally-closedvalve controlling said actuator, and a part on said door in position toopen said valve when the door is opened and hold the valve open whilethe door remains open.

a. In an electric coupler, a casing, a door for said casing, a movablecontact carrier in the casing adapted to be projected when the door isopen, a pneumatic actuating device for said carrier, a normally-closedvalve controlling said actuator, a part on said door in position to opensaid Valve when the door is opened and hold the valve open while thedoor remains open, and a catch for holding said door open.

In an elec'tric coupler, a casing, a door for said casing, a movablecontactcarrier in the casing; adapted to be projected when the dooris'open, an actuator for said carrier, means associated with said doorfor controlling said actuator, a catch for holding said dooropen, andapart on said carriei' for tripping the catch when the latter isretractedfl I j r '(SQIn an electric coupler, a casing, a door for saidcasing,-

movable contact carrier in the casing adapted to be projected when thedoor is open, an actuator for said car= r'ier, means associated withsaid door for controlling said actuator, a catch for holding said dooropcn, and a dog movably mounted on said carrier and constructed andarranged to travel pastsaid catch without tripping itwhen the carrier isprojected and to engage with the catch and trip it when the carrier isretracted 7. In van electric coupler, a casing, a door for said casing,aspring tending to close said door and hold itclosed, means foropencatch; 7

8LIn an electric coupler, a casing, a door for said casing, a springtending to close said door and hold it closed, means for openingthedoor" against the tension of said spring, a catch for holding the dooropen, a contact carrier in the casing adapted to be projected when thedoor is open, a spring tending to move said carrier into and hold 7 itin its retracted position, an actuator for projectin said carrieragainst the tension of'its spring, means associated with the door forcontrolling said actuator, means associated with the carrier forcontrolling said catch, and acatch for holding-said carrier in itsprojected position. I

In an electric coupler, a casing, a door for said 'casing, a springtending to close said door, a catch for holding the door open,

' means'for opening the door, a contact carrier in the casing adapted tobe'projected when the door is open, 'an'actuator forprojectingsaid'carricr, a controlling device'for the actuator, meansassociated with said door for operating said controlling device when'thedooris moved into its open position,-and 'ine'ans asso'ciated'wi'th saidcarrier for tripp'ingsaid catch as the carrier moves from its projectedposition to its retracted position; a p

10. In anelectric coupler, a casing, a conagainst said stop. 7

tact carrier mounted in the casingso asto be movable between an idleposition and working position, a stop for arresting said carrier when'itreaches its working position, a yieldable part on the-carrier, anactuator engaging with said yieldable part to move said carrier into itsworking position, and; a spring arranged between said yieldable partandthe main portion of the carrier so as tobe stressed when the actuator isoperated. v

11. In an electric coupler, a casing, acontact carrier mounted in thecasing so as to be movable between; an idle position and a workingposition,"astop for arresting said carrier when'it reaches its workingposit-ion a yieldable part on the carrier, an actuator engaging withsaid yieldable part to move said carrier into its'working position, a

spring arranged between said yieldab'le part" and the main portion ofthe carrier was to be stressed when the actuatoris operated, and a catchin positionlto engage'with said yieldable part after said carrier hasengaged T saidstop so as yieldingly to hold the carrier I 12. In'anelectric coupler, a casing, a contact element mounted in the casing soas to be slidable in a direction forming an acute anglewit-h thelongitudinal axis of the casing, said element :having at its front end acontact face arranged atright angles to said axis, a spring'arrangedbetween said element and said casing and tending constantly to hold saidelement in a forward position in which said contact face lies'in frontof said casing, and a second contact elcmenthaving a contact face on itsouter end, SaldLSGCOHd vContact elementheing stationary and lying on-theoppos te side of said axis from the first contact element so as to beadapted to make a wiping engagementwith a sliding contact element on acooperating coupler.-

13. In an electric cou'pler,-a casing, two" contact elements inounted nsaid casingand having on their outer endscontact faces arranged at rightangles'to the longitudinat axis of the casing, at least one of saidelements lying at an acute angle to the longi-[ tudinal axis of thecasing, a spring arranged behind the latter contact-element and betweenthe same and thecasing yieldingly to hold said element projecting faconsiderable distance beyondthe front end of the casing, said elementsbeing arranged symmetrically with respect to said axis so asto .becapable of" engaging with the contacts on a similar cooperatingcoupling,

14. In an electric coupler, a casing, two contactelements mounted in thecasing and symmetrically'disposed with respect to the longitudinal axisof the latter, one of said elements being stationary and, projecting atitsfront end somewhat beyond the frontend of the casing, the second.contact element ex-- tending at an acute angle to said axis and slidablein the direction of its length, a spring behind said second contactelement tending constantly to hold the same in a forward position withits front end lying in advance of the front end of the first contactelement, one of said contact elements having at its front end a contactface at right angles to said axis.

15. In an electric coupler, a casing, two contact elements mounted insaid casing and having at their outer ends contact face-s symmetricallydisposed with respect to the longitudinal axis of the casing and lyingat right angles to said axis in planes disposed from each otherlongitudinally of the asing and both lying in front of the casing, thecontact element whose contact face lies farthest forward lying at anacute angle to said longitudinal axis and being slidable in thedirection of its length, and a spring arranged between the lattercontact element and the casing for yieldingly holding the contactelement in its advanced position and permitting it to slide back againstthe resistance of the spring. 7

16. In an electric coupler, a casing, two groups of contact elementsdisposed on opposite sides of a vertical plane containing thelongitudinal axis of the coupler, said contact elements projecting attheir front ends beyond the casing and terminating in transverse contactfaces adapted to make butt contact with the contact elements of thecooperating coupler, the. elements in one of the groups lying atan acuteangle to said plane and to the contacts of the other group and beingmovable with respect to the casing in the direction of their lengths,and springs between the elements of the latter group and the casingtending constantly to hold said elements with their forward endsadvanced beyond the forward ends of the elements of the other group.

17. In an electric coupler, a member of insulating material having onone side of the longitudinal axis a group of parallel passages formingan acute angle with said axis, contact elements slidahle in saidpassages, springs behind said elements tending to hold them thrustforward with their front ends projecting beyond said member, and a groupof stationary contact elements equal in number to the pieces in theaforesaid passages disposed on the opposite side of said axis, all ofsaid contact elements having on their front ends contact faces arrangedapproximately at right angles to said axis.

18. In. an electric coupler, a contact carrier movable between an idleposition and a working position, two similar parallel rows of'stationarycontacts having faces lying in a plane parallel to the path of movementof the carrier, a row of contact pieces equal in number and similar inspacing to the contacts in each of the aforesaid rows mounted on thecarrier so as to face and parallel the said rows of contacts, and acircuit closer having two working positions in one of which it isadapted to connect each of said contact pieces with the correspondingcontact in one of the said rows while in the other position it isadapted to connect each of said contact pieces with the correspondingcontact in the other of said rows.

19. In an electric coupler, a casing, a contact carrier arranged withinthe casing and having contact elements adapted to engagewith similarelements in another coupler, said carrier being movable between an idleposition and a working position, auxiliary contacts on the carrier andan electrical connectioniwith said contact elements, two sets ofstationary contacts arranged within the casing adjacent to said carrier,and a circuit closer in the casing movable independently of said carrierand constructed and ranged electrically to connect said auxiliarycontacts to either of said sets of stationary contacts when the carrieris in its working position.

:20. In an electric coupler, a casing, a contact carrier in said casinghaving contact elements adapted to engage with similar elements inanother coupler, auxiliary contacts on said carrier electricallyconnected to said contact elements, said carrier being movable betweenan idle position and a working position, two sets of stationary contactsin said casing, and a circuit closer movable in said casingindependently of said carrier between an idle position and two workingpo sitions; said circuit closer being constructed and arrangedelectrically to disconnect said auxiliary contacts from said stationarycontacts when both the carrier and the circuit closer are in their idlepositions; electrically to connect said auxiliary contacts with one setof said stationary contacts when the carricr is in its working positionand said circuit closer is in one of i s working positions; andelectrically to connect said auxiliary contacts with the other set ofstationary contacts when said circuit closer is in its other worlposition.

21. In an electric coupler, a casing, a movable contact carrier in saidcasing having contact elements adapted to engage with similar elementson another coupler, auxiliary contacts on said carrier electricallyconnected to said contact elements, two sets of stationary contacts insaid casing, and a circuit closer movable in said casing between an idleposition and two working positions, said circuit closer beingconstructed and arranged electrically to connect said auxiliary contactsto one set of said stationary contacts in one working position andelectrically to connect said auxiliary contacts to lOt) the other set ofstationary contactsin the other working position.

22. In an electric coupler, a casing, a mov able contact carrier in thecasing having contact elements adapted to engage with smnlar'elements onanother coupler, auxiliary contacts on the carrier electricallyconnected tosaid contact elements, two sets of stationary contacts inthe casing, a circuit closermovable in the casing between an idleposition and two Working positions, said other set of stationarycontacts inthe other working position, and means for locking saidcircuit closer in one of its positions.

23. In an electric coupler, a c1rcu1t-con trollingelement having anidle" position and two working positions, two pneumatic actuating, meansfor moving said element into said working positions, piping leading tosaid actuators and to anair terminal adapted to register with acorresponding terminal on another coupler, and acheck valve 50 p0-sitioned in said piping that air flowing toward said terminal in saidpiping will pass to both actuators while air flowing through saidterminal from another coupler will pass to only one of said actuators. V

24. In an electric coupler, a circuit-com trolling element, a pneumaticactuator for said element, a catch for holding said element inapredetermined position, a pneumatic releasing device for the catch;connected piping leading to saidactuator, and said releasing device; anda pressure valve in said piping in position to require air pres suretobuild up after air is'admitted to said'actuator before it can enter saidreleasing device.

25. In combination, an electric coupler having a. circuit-controllingelement, a pneumatic actuator for said element, a catch for holding saidelement in a predetermined po sition, a pneumatic unlocking'device for acar coupler; piping directly connecting said actuating device, saidreleasing device and said unlocking device; a master controlling valvefor admitting air to said piping, and V I V l p the car on which thecoupler is mounted and to cause the other actuating device to come apressure valve in saidpiping between said actuator and the said twodevices. I

26. In 'anelectric coupler, a casing having a door, a pneumatic actuatorfor opening said door, a contact carrier in said casing, apneumaticactuator for said carrier, acircuit closer in the casing co-ope'ratingwith said carrier, a pneumatic actuator for'said circuit closer, pipingconnecting said actuators to gether, a valve for admitting airto saidpiping, and adoor-controlled valve in said piping at av point to controlthe admission of air to the actuator for thecontact carrier.

27 In an electric coupler, a casing, 21. con-'- tact carrier in thecasing, an actuatortor.

said carrier, a circuit closer in the casing having two workingpositions and an idle position and co-operating with the carrier toproduce different circuit connections in said two working positions,two-actuating devicesfor said circuit closer one having a long strokeand the other a short stroke,- piping connecting saidactuator and saidactuating: devices together'and to an air terminal at the front end'ofsaid casing, and a check valve in said piping so positioned that whenair flows in one direction in said piping it will enter said actuatorand both of said actuating devices andwhen it flows in the otherdirection w1ll enter said actuator.

and only one of said actuatingdevices.

28. In an electric coupler, 'aseries' of con .tact elements ada-ptedtoengage withsimilar contact elements on another coupler, a crossconnecting switch including two sets of stationary contacts and amovable circuit closer, a pneumatic actuating device for moving saidcircuit closer into engagement with one of said sets of stationarycontacts,

a second. pneumatic actuating device for moving said circuit closer intoengagement closing positions and a. movable member movable independentlyof said contact elements, two pneumatic actuating devices for saidmovable switch membeigone of said actuating devices being adapted tomove said member into one of its circuit closing positions, the otheractuating device being adapted to move said member in its other circuitclosing position; and a piping system connected and arranged to bringoneof said actuating devices.- into play when air is supplied from intoplay when the air is supplied from a car on which a co-operatingcQupIeris mounted.

30. In an electric coupler,'contact elements adapted to engage withsimilar contact elements on a co-operating coupler, a cross connectingswitch having two circuit closing positions and a movable 'membermovable independently of said contact elements, two. pneumatic actuatingdevices for said movable switch; member, one of said actuating devicesbeing adapted to move said member into one of its circuit closingpositions, the other actuating device being adapted to move said memberin its other circuit closing position; and a piping system connected andarranged to bring one of said actuating devices into play when air issupplied from the car on which the coupler is mounted and to cause theother actuating device to come into play when the air is supplied from acar on which a co-operating coupler is mounted, and to cause both ofsaid actuating devices to be retracted to bring said movable switchmember into an idle position when air is supplied from either either ofsaid two cars in uncoupling.

31. In an electric coupler, a casing, two

contact elements projecting beyond said casing and symmetricallydisposed with respect to the longitudinal axis of the casing, saidcontact elements having faces arranged at right angles to said axis, oneof said elements being stationary, the other of said elements beingsli'dably mounted at an acute angle to said axis, and a spring tendingconstantly to hold the latter contact element in a forward vposition.

32. In an electric coupler, a casing, two contact elements projectingbeyond said casing and symmetrically disposed with respect to thelongitudinal axis of the latter, said contact elements having facesarranged at rightangles to said axis, one of said elements being somounted that the distance between its contact face and said axis remainsconstant, the other of said elements being slid- 1' fication.

HERBERT E. VAN DORN.

